Coca-Cola’s “2nd Lives” System Upcycles Unwanted Empties

In Vietnam, a country that has long struggled with plastic waste, the soft drink company has begun distributing 40,000 modified bottle tops that transform an average plastic Coca-Cola bottle into any of 16 different tools. And for free, no less.

The program, dubbed “2nd Lives,” seeks to answer the simple question: What if empty plastic bottles were given second lives? With the help of ad house Ogilvy & Mather China, Coca-Cola devised various "second life" tools, including a paintbrush, pencil sharpener, bubble-blower, water gun, shampoo dispenser, children’s toy, spray bottle, night-light, sauce dispenser, and more.

The program, which was first piloted in Vietnam in March, will be rolled out to Thailand and Indonesia later this year. "The idea has universal appeal and can therefore be replicated in other markets, beyond Asia," said Juggi Ramakrishnan, an executive creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, in a press release. ”These unique bottle caps are changing consumers’ behavior and mindsets with an incredibly simple, yet clever, idea. It’s not about high tech capabilities, just creative thinking.”

It’s a simple idea—and it makes us wonder why no one has thought of this before.